Stories and Poems

This edition we say, "So long, and thanks for all the hard work" to section head Goliath Gob. The big mouth is, however, staying on as a Newspaper Editor, so good luck with that work, and also receives thanks for this edition's first offering, the final chapters from the unique and enthralling world (or should that be worlds?) of Me, My Friends, In I. Next we have the second installment of the intriguing Runescape adventure story Courage by Jamster. Following that we have the poem, Skull Shattered Halls by Mr Metalhead which unusually contrasts medieval torture with the clinically cold, but no less deadly, world of modern warfare. Then there is Part 3 (of 4) in the tornado-twisting plot-lined story, The Mystery of Chocolate by Richman99. Finally, we have chapter 3, the most hopeful installment yet of the darkly disturbing story Seclusion by Adam?. I hope you all enjoy these stories as much as I enjoyed preparing them for this edition.

- SlashingUK

Me, My Friends, in I - By: Goliath Gob Chapter 9
The Plan

The Oteo dropped out of hyperspace at 0600 hours. I rubbed the fatigue from my eyes and prepared for landing, pressing the buttons Jess showed me to.

The Oteo touched ground. I lowered the ramp and walked down, greeted by two of Zmevely's body guards.
“I thought I would be greeted by Zmevely himself,” I said, slipping into Môc Yeô.
“Yeah right,” said the shorter one, eyeing my unusually large head, “You'll be coming with us now. You have the goods?”
“Of course, what do you take me for?” I said, feeling to make sure the SRE3000 was still in my pocket. I picked up the silver briefcase and walked down the ramp.

We arrived at Zmevely's lair in a little less than half an hour. The walk had been hard, so I gladly sat down.
“The boss will be with you in a moment,” said the taller one this time in a very deep voice.

I sat back, running the plan through my head so that I wouldn't mess up. I opened my eyes as I heard somebody's heavy footsteps. It was Zmevely, with his two body guards close behind.
“So, I hear that you are interested in selling me some goods,” he said in a gravely voice.
“Yes indeed. I hear you're interested in some heat vision sensors. Well I may just have the next best thing, if not better.” I handed him the HSCs.
He looked at me odd, unsure of what to do with it. “It's a contact lens. You place it over your eye,” I said, showing him how to do it. He brushed away his green hair from his reddish skin, carefully following my instructions. He blinked away a tear and looked around.
“Splendid! Heat vision, sensory, motion detector... This shall be very useful to me.”
I let out a sigh, relieved he didn't ask where I got them.
“May I ask why your head is so large?” he said, doing his best to sound pleasant. Believe me, he was nowhere as nice when we called the authorities on him two months ago.
“No, you may not ask. Moving on,” I said, ignoring the question, “I have an assortment of charges, mostly stun, which you can easily set, throw, and run. They work quite well. If it weren't for them, I'd be in jail right now,” I lied.
“Hmm, quite interesting,” he replied, handing the charges to his body guards.
“You wouldn't happen to have any washroom facilities would you?” I asked.
“Oh yes, second door on the right.”
“Thank you.”

I rounded the corner, taking out the SRE3000. I centered it on the wall and set it for three minutes. I continued walking down the hall. I came across a glowing room. I entered, sad to see my six friends in crude cryogenic chambers. At least I knew they were okay.

I returned to my chair, looking at my watch. Five, four, three, two, one… I jumped up as the explosive went off. I threw myself against the wall, acting. What I was seeing was definitely not what Zmevely was seeing. What I had given him was actually more a game than anything else. It was what IEA recruits used for mission practice. What he was seeing right now was an eigth foot Akleacan swamp beast, crashing through the walls.

I pretended as if it was really there, running away, screaming, actually seeing nothing at all. Zmevely, being the coward he really was, ran out of the room, leaving his rusty, old building he called his lair, and heading toward his equally rusty cargo ship.

The guards, having no idea what was happening, started to advance on me, suspecting I had something to do with this. Luckily, I did have something to do with this. I pressed a button on my wristwatch, and watched as they collapsed from the stun charges.

I smiled. All in a days work here at the IEA.

Chapter 10 - Final Chapter
Together Again

I watched as Intergalactic Police officers hauled a wriggling Zmevely into an IEA cruiser, along with his knocked out body guards. I then strolled over to The Oteo, where a couple of other IP officers were loading the cryogenic chambers onto the white and red ship. My communicator blipped.

“Malcolm, I have fixed the machine, but it is not completely fixed. I want you and your friends here at once.”
“Yes sir,” I answered Dyhmaxez wearily, turning off the communicator.

I climbed into the ship as the last of my friends were carried into the ship. I looked into my friends frozen eyes, knowing that this would be the last time I would see their faces for a long time.

***

We are approaching Reila, said the pilot's voice over the intercom.

I watched the silvery planet draw closer through the tiny view screen on the wall.

***

I positioned myself inside the machine, looking around, seeing my friends placed lifelessly against the wall of the machine by the professor's assistant. The assistant exited the chamber, closing the hatch behind him. The machine turned on, a loud whirring filled my ears. Not soon after I blacked out from exhaustion.

***

I slowly opened my eyes, the light stinging them. I saw a faint outline of somebody standing over me.

“The…procedure?” I asked slowly.
“A success,” came the soft voice of the Prime Minister.
“Malcolm?” asked a voice from inside my head.
“Justin?” I asked.
“Yes, we're all here. What happened? One minute we were in the machine, and the next we're here. What's going on?”
I sat up, and went through the events of the past few days, trying to think of an answer.
“Let's just say,” I smiled, “that seven heads are better than none.”

The End





The Language of Môc Yeô

Translations

Ebzzlôel akmcev – Commence switch

Vley - Heal

Ebzzlôel cvl üibblaqil! – Commence the procedure!

Üibnlaati! Üibnlaati! Cvlo eil ekeil! – Professor! Professor! They are awake!

Zeaez Üimzl Zmômacli – Madam Prime Minister

 

Author's Note: I'm certainly not smart enough to make my own language. Môc Yeô is really more of a code. The code is here, though I've forgotten a few characters. A couple of characters may not work in your browser, either.

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Courage - By: Jamster

Part Two

Breaking her gaze from the footprints, Juna turned towards the skeletal remains lying on the cavern floor behind her. The creatures of the caves had had their share, leaving stained, soaking clothing and brittle bones for Juna and her God. Summoning the power bestowed upon her, she raised the skull of the child away from the ground, uttered the words of resurrection, and the body faded away leaving nothing but the runes he was carrying.

Now all she had to do was track that 'human.' Bringing the runes back to her nest, Juna prepared the ritual. The power emanating from the chaos runes would be more than sufficient, but this would still be an exhausting operation. Arranging the runes in a circle in Guthix' cave, Juna began chanting strange words in her own old, mystical tongue. Anyone listening would have been transfixed by the beauty of the words, yet the true meaning was less than beautiful. The chant continued, Juna herself staring beyond this world. Her deep blue eyes seemed to be full of joy, anger, fear and sorrow, yet all at the same time. As the runes began to glow, a furious wind blew through the caverns, the first air movement in centuries. Embracing the wind, Juna drew her long body back, uttered the final words of the incantation and fell to the cold, hard floor. She laid still, her eyes glazed over, and her breathing slowed... Then stopped.

Juna's eyes snapped open. The cavern floor felt ghostly cold, she shivered, and rolled over onto her back. She could feel something new, something different about her, but she was too tired to think properly. Her tough snakeskin seemed weaker, every pebble on the floor was digging into her body in a variety of places, and she couldn't feel her tail. As her mind cleared, she tried to pull herself upright, and realised with a shock, that the ancient magic held within her final words had worked. She looked at her body, no longer was it long, thin, scaly and dark green. It was flesh. She looked at herself. Her new body. The human form was such a marvellous creation, but so, oh, so hard to use. She attempted to stand up, but her legs gave way underneath her. Cursing in the old tongue, she tried again, holding onto the wall for support. This time, she remained upright, wobbly, but upright.

Within the hour, Juna had full control of her body. Speaking, using her mouth to form words of this new language, was definitely a challenge. The old tongue was a much cleaner language. Easier to form, easier to remember. The chaos runes on the floor had been depleted, their very essence charred pitch black. Juna picked these up, and inspected them. There was still a small amount power emanating naturally from the essence, it would be just enough for a final spell. She held the seven runes together, chanting softly, as if to the runes themselves. A slight yellow glow grew around the runes, slowly growing into a sphere of pure energy. Giving the runes a little push, Juna threw them into the light, where they stayed, floating, rotating slowly. An image slowly formed across the flat surface of the runes, showing a young boy walking along the road to Varrock, a beautiful brooch clipped to his backpack. Juna stepped closer, the image blurred before she could see the head, the glowing haze stopped, and the runes fell to the floor with a loud thud. Juna looked down amazed, the spell she had used there should only have ended on her command, so why had it ended before? She had no time to ponder these things. The human must be found, and then she could get the truth. With a twirl of her dark green cape and a small prayer to the God of Balance, she faded away, vowing to track down the human.

The shadow of the wall surrounding Varrock blotted out the sunlight as it passed low into the evening sky. In the North East of the city, in a small clearing by the ruin of a Runecrafting Temple, the ancient energies of the Earth began to reawaken. The churning earth rose, uprooting grass, flowers and an old Oak tree, then suddenly, it stopped. Juna, crouched down low, shielding her head with her hands, faded into view. Teleportation needed a lot of power, and the Earth Altar had more than enough, it was still dangerously intrusive. Slowly, she looked up. Good, no onlookers. Muttering three words in the old tongue, she watched as the Earth returned to normal, even the upturned Oak was forced upwards. In a couple of seconds, no one would have known anything unusual had happened, it all looked perfectly normal, and no trace of magic was detectable. Varrock was a place of learning, many scholars studied here, including the famous Reldo, librarian at the Palace, keeper of all the great books. They had met before, when he was just a boy, exploring in the Lumbridge Swamp Caves. He had been so eager to learn, so interested in everything around him, yet so sincere for such a young age. She had told him all about Guthix, herself, the other Gods and all about the God Wars. Reldo had taken all this in, writing it down and later committing it to memory. This was the start of his quest for knowledge. Without Juna's inspirational retelling of history, Reldo may never have become what he was today.

Juna slipped past the guards at the West entrance and melted into the background of Varrock's busy market. The museum provided the perfect cover for removing her displacement form. She had felt the boy's presence ever since she arrived in Varrock. He was at the palace, and Juna imagined he was talking to Reldo. The King and Queen wouldn't be interested in seeing the vagrant, and Sir Prysin was too absent minded to care much about seeing anyone. Reldo had made a habit of inviting anyone into his workplace, he liked to think of it as a little study of human kind. Reldo had made detailed notes on every person who had come to visit him in his time. Their accent, clothing, hairstyle, habits: Anything he could get out of them before they had left. He had quite a collection, ranging from Goblins to the most noble Amik Varze of Falador. Something was shielding the boy from her gaze, but Reldo's notes could prove most useful in tracking down this mysterious target.

The palace courtyard, radiant as ever, basked in the late evening sunlight. Alexis walked out from the palace, strapping his backpack around his shoulders, and taking out his map. The barbarian village may offer some hospitality, and from there, tomorrow he could set out back to Draynor, eager to show his parents his spoils from the Swamp Caves, as well as show them what Reldo had taught him. However, he still couldn't get rid of the feeling he was being watched. Looking around, all he saw were guards and other adventurers, basking in the glorious sunshine. He shook his head. The caves had been a little unnerving, he'd be fine after he got back to his house and had a nice, proper cooked meal. Eating a couple of lukewarm anchovies didn't exactly inspire him to greatness. Packing away his map, Alexis set off down the path, towards Varrock's town centre, whistling a merry tune as he went.

Juna stood, hiding behind the statue of King Roald in the courtyard. The boy turned suddenly while she watched, and she winced as his gazed passed through the statue. Suddenly, as she looked at him in the face, he disappeared. Just like that. It wasn't teleportation, the energies around here were as stable as ever. He'd just... vanished. She shook her head, maybe the evening light was playing tricks with her head, or maybe, just maybe, there was something else, wanting to hide their friend with magic similar, if not stronger than her own. The thought worried her, but also made her more determined to find out exactly what was going on. She stepped through the palace entrance, and opened Reldo's Library door.

"Not now, goodness me, how does anyone think that I'll get any work done around here, didn't the guard tell you I was busy?" Juna entered the room silently. As Reldo continued to work, she began reciting the first text from the Book of Balance.
"The rivers flow, the sun ignites;
May you stand with Guthix in thy fights..." On hearing this, Reldo turned.
"Juna!" He knelt, "Is that, really you?"
She crouched next to him, and with her soft hands, brought his face to meet her own. Seeing the power and firmness in her eyes, Reldo knew that it was, before she said a word.
"A messenger of the Gods, in my library. I cannot comprehend your reasons, but if I may help, I will."
"Yes, it is true. I require your service, you will be duly rewarded for helping a God, of course." She rose, and walked towards his worktable.
"That... human. The young one, who saw you just now." Juna continued, "What did you notice about him?"
Reldo paused for a minute, recollecting the pieces of the past Juna had shattered when she entered.
"Brown hair, short, untidy. He was dripping with sweat when he came in, I refused to see him at first. He wasn't wearing much. However, he had that brooch. Yes, the brooch. I've seen nothing like it before in my life, but we traced it back to the Second Age. But, none of that can be of importance to you. Surely Guthix can see this boy for himself, no?"
"That is... as you say, a certainty. However, there was something... blocking our vision. This boy is not... ordinary. There is a power far greater than those of normal... mortals. Are you... sure there was not anything else of interest."

Reldo shook his head. His memory of the encounter was fading, as if something was forcing him to forget, wiping his mind and filling it with nothing. This 'nothing' was more than just an empty space. He felt it eating into his brain. Biting. Burning. Killing. Clutching his head in agony, he stepped backwards, slipped on the marble flooring, and found himself falling to the floor. Like lightning, Juna was there, cradling the fallen man's upper torso. His head rolled backwards, but she caught it in her hand. Something here wasn't right. Juna had seen this before, a violent reaction to having your mind tampered with. Focusing all her strength, she drew in a deep breath, and exhaled, blowing the aged pages of the hundreds of books in the library wildly across the room. Her hands faded into a ghostly shade of green, and she forced them into Reldo's head.

Juna closed her eyes, probing further into the mind of this mortal. One false move, and Reldo would be scarred for life, but it seemed this other force was already doing that for her, she just had to find it. Memories flashed through her head, she saw herself being handed the key to the library in Varrock. Creeping through Lumbridge Swamp, studying thousands upon thousands of books for exams. She felt the sadness of having a mother she never knew, and the terror of seeing her Father die at the hands of the Black Arm's killers. In an instant, Juna realised these were Reldo's own memories. After all that he had been through, she was not going to be the one to stand by and let him die. With renewed vigour, she continued her search for this aggressive force determined to wipe out Reldo's memories, and soon, his life.

Suddenly, Juna was in her room, studying again. This memory was different. The same books lay on the tables, she sat on the same chair, in the same room, with the same smell of beef wafting from the kitchen. Turning round, she saw the difference. She saw what had infected Reldo's mind. A huge, pulsating growth was in the middle of the room, feeding on the memories of this innocent victim. Every sight, smell, sound and feeling was being taken from the memory, and being eaten by this tormentor of the mind. The walls fell away, the creature turned to face her, and, letting out a triumphant cry, it dived towards her. She could only think that this meant it had succeeded. Reldo's mind had been lost, and before she could do anything, it began pulling her into it, she felt her own memories being sucked away.

Juna opened her eyes. Her hands left Reldo's head, and his body fell to the floor. She could feel the parasite inside her now, attempting to feed upon her memories. Those touched by a god, however, are stronger than mere mortals. Her God would protect her from such things, that was the beauty of Guthix' work. Never did he interfere to kill or to save, just to keep the balance. But, Reldo's life was still drifting in her own, and once she had cleansed her body she would have to return his mind to him. Climbing the stairs, Juna headed towards the altar...

****

The campfire Alexis had made was glowing brilliantly. He warmed his hands on the glowing wood, and readied his sleeping bag. The barbarians had been less than friendly, and Alexis had had to talk his way slowly and quietly out of a confrontation with their chieftain, a hefty fellow going by the name of Gunther the Brave. Alexis had made a hasty retreat further West, and had found himself a sheltered spot by the old runic circle North of Falador. Here he sat, roasting a carcass of a freshly caught raccoon, unaware of the unrest he had caused in Varrock's royal palace. Leaving it on the splint, Alexis pulled his backpack towards him, and slowly unhooked the brooch from its perch on the top of his bag. In the evening light, it looked even more beautiful than it had with his lantern's light. The glittering patterns enraptured him, he turned it round and round in his hands, every angle created a wonderful array of glowing reds, oranges and yellows.

"Finally, you have arrived, my boy!" Alexis spun round, his eyes darted from left to right, desperatly trying to find the owner of this long, drawling voice. He stepped backwards, his back hard against one of the druidic stones, and brought the brooch up protectively over his chest, covering his frantically beating heart.
"I have been watching you, protecting you," the voice continued, "it is such an honour to be able to feel your flesh beside me. I only ask one thing of you, Alex," the voice softened suddenly, "Help me."

This plea echoed around Alexis' mind, he felt the pain and suffering of this mysterious owner. Something screamed out to him in the back of his head not to trust whoever the voice belonged to, but it seemed so warm and comforting, so desperate, in need. In need of him. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and walked away from the rocks, back to his small sleeping bag. The day's adventure had taken its toll, he must ..... be overtired or something. " NO!" The voice, suddenly as loud as thunder shouted in his mind, Alexis felt the arm with the brooch writhe of its own accord, pulling him back towards the rocks. Alexis forced it backwards, and screamed as suddenly his arm dislocated itself from his shoulder. Unbearable pain flooded into his mind, and the brooch smashed into the rocks, shattering into hundreds of tiny shards. As a thick, black smoke whisped around Alexis, he ceased fighting. His bright blue eyes dulled, his arm hung loose on his left side, and he stood, calmly.

"I am yours, my lord." The boy whispered softly, before he slumped sideways. His eyes were closed before he hit the ground.

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Skull Shattered Halls - By: Mr Metalhead

A place that lies deep in the depths of a castle dungeon
Where unspeakable things were done
Where the most vile and gruesome acts were committed
To avenge those who had unspeakable things done to them

In the skull shattered halls of that dark sewer
Where the the medieval corpses and cadavers lay
Their skeletal remains still chained to their death point

We technically still do this today
It's just not shown as brutal or gruesome
It's planted into society as a normal thing
It's planted into society as war

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Mystery of Chocolate: Chapter 3 - By: Richman99 “Mr. Adams! I know who is involved in this chocolate scandal! It's your very own employee, Liz Knight! I overheard her talking with someone and I found out she is connected to this mess!" I yelled.

“Whoa, Brian. Calm down. For some reason, I also suspect her. She seems to be making mistakes intentionally; mistakes that are really bothering the whole company! Let's do this: we'll meet up tomorrow—don't worry, I'll pick you up and we'll discuss this then. I'll talk to you tomorrow," Mr. Adams replied. Though the case seemed to be becoming clear now, little did I know that in a couple of days it would turn upside down again!

I got up the next day earlier than usual, eager to discuss the case with Mr. Adams. He picked me up a little after ten, but it took us an hour to reach his mansion due to traffic! Don't you just hate being stuck in a traffic jam and having to bear the cacophony of those car horns?

As soon as we reached Mr. Adams' house, I recounted all the events that happened after the loud and intense “meeting" a couple of days ago. Mr. Adams contemplated my recollection of the events and said, “Wow Brian! I never knew you were so shrewd. Still I can't believe Liz would do this, just because I yelled at her? The good thing is that because of you, this adversity will come to an end! Unfortunately, there's just one minor problem. We have no proof, no evidence. There's only one way to get our evidence. We must stay on the sly and spy on Liz only then can we prove that Liz is connected to this crazy state of affairs."

“Aw'right! I'll try to be as inconspicuous as possible! Now let's go! By the way, where's Steve?” I asked.

“He's gone over to a friend's pool party... maybe you can meet him later," Mr. Adams replied, though there seemed to be more to his answer than I could decipher.

Following our conversation, we left for the company's office to check on Liz. When we arrived there, there was tranquillity all around. No harsh or disruptive voice could be heard from maybe even miles away! Too bad the tranquililty was broken when we moved deeper into the building. Two voices of men talking vociferously about Mr. Adams being cheated out of and losing in an election for Senior President could be heard coming from a cubicle. When I asked Mr. Adams about those men, he simply said, “I have no clue."

We searched through the entire building but there was no trace of Liz anywhere! While we were surreptitiously searching for Liz, I heard a group of acrid voices...saying something like, “I feel bad for Mr. Adams. Before this scandal, he was already so tense about the possibility of being demoted from his position of President or even being fired! I hope nothing untoward happens to him." That's when I had a strange feeling about what was happening around me...

Could Mr. Adams be connected to this scandal? Maybe Liz doesn't know about his involvement with this scandal and talking to her may give me further clues about Mr. Adams' true role in this business. It is not entirely impossible for him to be involved in this case in ways he hasn't told me. A guy could lose his cool especially when a lot of unfair things happen...

We decided to go through the building again. Mr. Adams and I split up and went in different directions. This time, I came upon a room filled with files scattered across the floor. Some had nasty stuff written about Steve's dad and some even said that Mr. Adams was going to be fired! The most disturbing note I found was the one where it said that Steve's dad was connected to the scandal! That note was at the absolute corner of the room, where spider webs were all over it!

“How can this be? Is it really true? Is Steve's dad really the head of this scandal?" I said out loud.

“Yes it's true Brian. Now, you know the truth," said a strong and booming voice from behind me.

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Seclusion - By: Adam? Chapter 3

"Adam! Wake up, it's time for school!"

Adam's eyes slowly opened, and waited until the haze of sleepiness drifted away from his eyes. His nose peeked over his blanket, as he contemplated getting out of bed, or attempting to retire before the day even started. He slowly sat up, stretched, yawned, got dressed, and made an honest attempt at getting downstairs without collapsing on the way there. He did not succeed.

His mom walked over to his body on the floor, grabbed him under the arms, and hoisted him up. "Come now, Adam, you like school, don't you?"

"It's the getting up part I don't like," Adam yawned while rubbing his eyes.

"We all have to do it. Believe me, you aren't the only one who hates getting up, and being late on your first day of sixth grade would make a bad impression. Why did you have to lie down, Adam? I just ironed that shirt." She made a few attempts at smoothing down the creases, and then licked her finger.

"Oh no, you're not getting me this time," Adam shrugged away and went downstairs, leaving his mom shaking her head.

Adam walked into the kitchen and saw that his father had left for work already. For a second he wondered how his father managed it every day, then remembered his father had coffee, and then sat down to a breakfast of cereal and milk. Foot loops and two percent milk, specifically. He finished quickly, and left for school with a smile on his face.

His stride had a new authority as he made it to school; he was now a sixth grader. A step below junior high, and the top dog at his school. Although he was not tall, he was now one of the oldest students in the school and would be treated with respect. He almost ran up the steps, thinking to himself that he was going to love this academic year.

"Welcome to the sixth grade." A middle-aged woman with long black hair and red fingernails addressed the class. "You will soon realize the large difference in the level of difficulty from fifth to sixth. As your teacher, I will not be holding your hand as we go through the year; your grades will reflect how hard you work." Adam was not deterred by this less than inspiring welcome; he was smart. He made it through the day with relative ease, and received many compliments in art class over the quality of his pictures. As he lay down to sleep that night he felt that this was going to be a great year indeed.


One week later

Adam walked up to his front door and heard muffled voices inside his house. He dropped his bag beside him, and slowly opened the front door. He was met by his mother's voice.

"...can't believe this would happen! You have a wife and son to support, how could they do this to us!?"

Adam heard his Dad speak, and he sounded very worn-out. "They couldn't afford to keep all of their employees, and they didn't think I was worth keeping..."

"Oh that's a GREAT reason! Maybe if you weren't so timid when it came to getting promoted this wouldn't have happened," she shrieked. Adam could almost imagine his father shrinking back from a verbal blow.

"What are we going to..." Adam let the door close and went in to the backyard. He climbed the old oak tree, sat down atop a thick branch, and resolved never to come down.

Two weeks later

Adam woke up the next day to the beeping of his alarm clock. He went downstairs, and was greeted by an eerie emptiness. He made himself a small breakfast of toast and orange juice, and left for school. He was no longer looking forward to the year.

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